Choir seeking more bass voices

BASSES: Joanna Love (WHS teacher) would like to see (and hear) more men in the Lyric Singers.
PHOTO / Paul Brooks

Building and maintaining a choir like the Lyric Singers is a labour of love, and for the choir's conductor, Joanna Love, it's a passion.

She wants to see the choir grow and perform well, and to do that she needs more members, especially men.

Men, as potential choir members, are hard to find, and yet they are essential.

Joanna says it often comes down to experience.

Not many men have sung in choirs, even when they were children. Often they were led to believe they could not sing. That's not so much the case with women, so finding female voices is not so difficult.

"That's the challenge for me as a conductor, I have to meet the needs of people who are quite experienced with someone who might not have sung before."

Joanna's husband, Pat McNamara, was told by the nuns at school that he couldn't sing.

He's now in the Lyric Singers.

"I started off singing quietly," he says. "I was quite surprised I can sing, really."

Joanna says most people can learn to sing in tune.

"There are very few people who are completely tone deaf," she says. "You just meet them where they're 'droning' and move their voice around."

Many people are not used to that vocal movement, but once learned the rest follows, from singing in unison with other choir members to part singing, taking a harmony and holding it while others sing different parts around you.

"The best choir singing is part singing: that's got to blend unaccompanied — that's the best singing of the lot. It has a vibration to it, an energy.

"The way forward for the choir is to have more men," says Joanna. "In a choir you've got to have basses, otherwise you've got no choir. The bass is the most important voice in the choir. It's an anchor, it's your root, it's singing the bass note of the chord and everyone should tune into that."

There are five basses in the choir at the moment, but Joanna says they need more.

While men are certainly needed, Joanna says they would like to see more women join the choir. The ability to read music is not necessary but those who can are very welcome.

Previous choral experience is desirable but not necessary.

The choir aims to provide opportunities for members to sing and enjoy choral music; to provide a musical service to the wider community through performance and to raise money for charity; to assist promising musicians through grants.

This year's programme includes Sing Fest in April, a midyear concert in June and the end of year concert on November 24.

The choir has 20 corporate sponsors providing services or financial assistance.

Joanna and Pat arrived in Whanganui from the South Island in 2013, with a one year, fixed term contract for Joanna to teach at Whanganui High School. They stayed, with the primary motivating factors being the Lyric Singers and the tennis club, as well as the people they met here, like Joan and Clive Sullivan. Through them Joanna joined the choir as temporary accompanist and chorister then took over as conductor in 2015. She was a registered music teacher giving tuition in piano and flute, and has LTCL in both instruments.

To find out more about the choir call Joanna Love on 345 9073.

By Paul Brooks
Wanganui Midweek 24/1/18